My first time trying Chicago-style pizza was actually not all that long ago. I was in Chicago (duh) less than two years ago to take a portion of my medical boards. I made it through the eight-hour day of testing and really needed some relaxation, but since we had three-month old Andrew with us at the time, a nice dinner out in the city just wasn’t in the cards. We walked to pick up a pizza from Pizzeria Uno, went back to our hotel room, and pretty much devoured it. It was a wonderful way to calm down after a very stressful day.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect of the pizza other than that it would be deep-dish, so I was surprised to see the sauce on top of the cheese. Now I know that’s part of what makes it Chicago-style. But it was good – and so was this homemade version. The thick, tall crust serves as sort of a bowl for all the yummy toppings and sauce. I tried a different deep dish recipe a while back that was just “eh”, but this version is definitely a winner. The crust was fabulous – soft, flaky and buttery, but sturdy enough to stand up to all the cheese and sauce on top of it. The original recipe yields two 9-inch pizzas but I made just one for the three of us. Next time I might make both and try freezing one, since it would be a nice thing to have around when for a last minute meal.

Directions

To make the dough, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on low speed. Mix until blended, about 1 minute. Add the water and melted butter and continue mixing on low speed until fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is glossy and smooth, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 4-5 minutes.

Using your hands, coat a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, about 45-60 minutes.

While the dough is rising, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, oregano, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until reduced to about 1¼ cups, about 25 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil and oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To laminate the dough, turn the dough out onto a dry work surface and roll into a 8- by 6-inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. With the seam side down, flatten the cylinder into a 9- by 2 inch rectangle. Fold into thirds like a business letter, pinch the seams to form a ball, and return to the oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator until nearly doubled in size, 40-50 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. To assemble, coat a 9-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer the dough ball to a dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch disk about ¼-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the pan. Lightly press the dough into the pan, working into the corners and 1 inch up the sides. If the dough resists stretching, let rest 5 minutes before trying again.

Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the surface of the dough. Spread the tomato sauce over the cheese and top with Parmesan. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Source

I have always loved Chicago deep dish pizzas. Now I can make my own. Thanks for sharing.

http://tideandthyme.com Laura

Hey, this is on my list for next week! Glad to see you tried it out and shared. Looks great!

http://www.takeamegabite.com Megan

Ooh I’m excited to make this one. I didn’t realize I could use a cake pan for it! Perfect!

http://blessusolord.blogspot.com/ Barbara

I use my large cast iron skillet for deep dish pizza and the crust gets so nice and crisp!

http://bakeitafterall.blogspot.com Meghan

I have this same recipe saved to my desktop to try! I promised my husband I would learn to make Chicago style deep dish before we move away from CHI this spring! Yours looks fantastic!!! If you are ever back in Chicago and in the mood for deep dish, I highly recommend Lou Malnati’s – it’s my favorite :)

http://www.cookingandeatinginthewindycity.blogspot.com Erin

I love deep dish pizza, but rarely eat it because it’s so unhealthy. I like the idea of making it at home, though, so I could load up on veggies and healthy stuff to balance out the cheese! It also works great to make deep dish in a cast iron skillet if you have one.

melanie:::

oh. my. I don’t think I can let my husband see this recipe until I’m ready to try it. He LOVES Chicago style pizza (and so do I), but he won’t be able to think of any other food group once he knows this exists on one my favorite recipe blogs. :)

http://theadventuresoffaith.blogspot.com Faith

Yum! I’m going to have to try this. I can’t get deep dish anywhere around here!

http://vanillakitchen.blogspot.com dawn

I love this!

http://christines-cuisine.blogspot.com Christine

I saw this in the latest CI – I might try it soon. I’m going to Chicago for the first time in April – I cannot wait! :)

http://jsbofferding.blogspot.com Sara

Oh man, pizza is quite possibly my most favorite food ever! This looks SO good. I need to go to Chicago and try the real thing…but this recipe will be enough for now. :)

http://smittensugar.blogspot.com Krystle

Ohh yum! I have been trying to eat healthier the last couple of weeks but pizza is something I have a hard time turning down! Looks delicious

http://citywifecountrylife.blogspot.com Angele

I’ve made pizza so often lately that I’d decided to give it a rest for a month or so. By the way my mouth watered at your pictures, I’m afraid pizza will be back on the menu tonight… Chicago style :). Thanks for the recipe!!

Tish

Can’t wait to try:)…2 Questions; 1) what temperature do you bake the pizza and 2) Did you halve the recipe to only make on pizza, or will this amount make 2?

http://mikeandkarlahenderson.blogspot.com Karla

What is “instant yeast”? I adore deep dish pizza and am looking forward to trying this!

http://www.ordinary-time.blogspot.com Elizabeth

I usually just lurk, but had to chime in here (from Chicago). When I make Chicago-style pizza, it’s not just deep dish, but stuffed, meaning that there is a crust on top of the filling with the sauce and the cheese on top of the second layer of crust. (Though I’m sure there are as many versions of Chicago stuffed pizza as there are pizza places here.)

I love the idea of using a cake pan. I have one large pan for deep dish/stuffed pizza, but it’s not big enough to feed my brood, so I haven’t made it in a while. (Being too cheap to invest in a second pan.) I’ll have to try using cake pans to help me make enough.

Dave

looks awesome!

http://www.dianascocina.blogspot.com Diana Merrell

I can’t wait to try this recipe. It looks yummy!

Annie

Yeah, the people from Cook’s Illustrated went to Chicago to research exactly what Chicago-style pizza is, and this is what they came up with. At least for me, it’s a dead ringer of what I had from Pizzeria Uno.

Annie

Karla, instant yeast is the same as rapid rise or bread machine yeast. Basically, it doesn’t require activation like active dry yeast, and I have much better results with it. You can Google it.

http://redvelvetart.typepad.com/emma Emma

I have been a blog reader of yours for a little while now and I just have to tell you how much I love your blog! Your recipes are great and your pictures are amazing!

http://appleandspice.blogspot.com Katie

Wow it looks fantastic and so authentic. I want a slice right now.

http://cakebatterandbowl.com Kerstin

I’m drooling over here – your pizza looks fantastic! I went to grad school in Chicago and would love to recreate the pizza there, so I am definitely saving this recipe!

Anne Marie

I am a big fan of yours, Annie, and so are my girls (9 and 11). We love to browse your website and decide what recipe we’re going to make. When I saw this one, my jaw dropped. I’m making this this weekend for sure! Everything I’ve made from your site has been a huge hit. Can’t wait to try this one!

Jeannette M.

YUM….I’m planning on making this for the Super Bowl….I too think I’ll try mine in my cast iron skillet……well I’m off now to have a slice of my chocolate caramel mousse tart ….came out great….thanks for all of the wonderful ideas Annie!

http://myfabulousrecipes.blogspot.com/ Sook @ My Fabulous Recipes

I’m so excited that you posted this recipe! I love Chicago-style pizza! There is a pizza place that’s called “Chicago Fire” and that’s like the only pizza place that I truly love. Now that I have this recipe, I can try and make it myself. Thank you.

Debbie

Hi Annie,

Looks amazing, as always! I’m curious, what do you do if you don’t have a kitchen aid mixer? Is it a lot harder to make the crust? I’ve never attempted pizza crust b/c I’m afraid it would be crazy hard without one. Maybe one day I’ll cave and get one, but just not in the budget at the moment. Thanks for any help!

Hi Tish, Sorry, I left out the temperature in the recipe. It’s fixed now – thanks for catching it! If you look down at the bottom of the recipe, I had written the yield, which is one 9-inch pizza.

http://sotastysoyummy.blogspot.com katie

So happy to see this and Shawnda’s recipes posted within hours of one another. Deep dish pizza is going onto next week’s menu for sure. Thanks so much for all your great recipes!

http://terryandmarissa.blogspot.com Marissa

Annie – I am a BIG fan. Love your recipes and pictures. I made this recipe tonight and I have to say that the dough was much too salty, so I made a second batch with only 1 tsp. and it tasted so much better, rose faster, everything. Just to let you and anyone else who is making this know.

The finished product….heavenly.

http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/ Erin (The Sisters’ Cafe)

Wow, this looks great! I love gourmet homemade pizzas. They are one of my favorite dinners. This looks different and fun. Yum!

Annie

Hi Marissa, Thanks for letting me know. I just double checked the recipe and turns out it was a typo (I have corrected it), so it makes sense that it was way too salty. Sorry to have inconvenienced you but I’m glad we got it straightened out. Glad you enjoyed the end result!

Ariana from Chicago

Annie, I made this last night, along with your other thin crust recipe. I was very surprised and impressed with the deep dish! I actually did a veggie version. The crust didn’t rise alot for me, but it ended up being flaky and very good. I am a Lou Malnati’s fan, but this is a pretty decent and fairly easy substitute. I think I might dial down the salt in the crust, though. Also, can you just clarify the “business fold”? I think I did it right, but not 100% sure. Also, fyi – I saw King Arthur’s version, which includes parbaking the crust – I don’t know how you would avoid the crust from puffing to much. Thank you!!

http://www.bakeat350.blogspot.com bridget {bake at 350}

I want THIS pizza with THOSE cream puffs above! Annie, you are my hero!

http://www.j3nn.net Jenn (j3nn.net)

Being from NY and used to NY-style or Sicilian, I wasn’t terribly fond of the Pizzeria Uno pizza that we tried one time. But I’m sure the homemade version is much better. I’m going to give it a try, thanks for the idea!! :)

Jenn

Annie

Ariana, so sorry about the salt! I had another reader comment it was too salty and double checked. Apparently I made a typo there (it has been corrected now.) Sorry it didn’t rise all that well. Mine rose very well, but it did take a bit longer than the suggested time. As for the business fold, I’m sure you did it right because it would be almost impossible to do it in the other direction. Basically, if you have a 9 x 2 inch rectangle, you fold it in thirds overlapping each other in the middle so it’s about a 3 x 2 inch, very thick rectangle.

http://sweesan.blogspot.com Swee

I just saw this on Anthony Bourdain’s show on tv .. looks really good !!

http://cookingbride.wordpress.com/ Lisa @ The Cooking Bride

My father grew up in the suburbs in Chicago. I remember him taking me to Pizzeria Uno as a teenager. Supposedly they are the original makers of the Chicago deep dish. I remember them taking our order before they even sat us because it takes so long to make.

I love thick crust pizzas. I definitely will be trying this.

Ariana from Chicago

Thanks Annie for clarifying the salt measure! Also, I think I figured out why my dough didn’t rise. When I added my dry ingredients to the mixer my salt may have made contact with the dry yeast, which can either kill it or decrease it’s effectiveness! I am so used to proofing yeast in water first, I had no idea. Now I am much more confident and can’t wait to make this again!!

http://www.browneyedbaker.com Michelle {Brown Eyed Baker}

I just made this for dinner last night too! Always great minds :) I adjusted the recipe and made it in my 12-inch cast iron skillet and it was great. I also did some layering of the ingredients and added pepperoni, and it was awesome. No pictures though, so the blog will have to wait ;-)

Jessie

How do you think fresh mozzarella would work with this, do you think it would make it too wet?

Annie

Jessie, I’m not sure – I think it probably would be too wet, but I’ve never tried it so can’t say for sure.

Jordan

We’ve been working on the same CI deep dish recipe. My dad is actually grinding his own sausage with the kitchenaid and has made a few awesome versions of this pizza. Let me know if you need any sauce or sausage recipes!

Vanessa

I tried making the dough just as described. The dough seems very dry! It is def not like my regular pizza dough I make. HELP! Why is it sooo dry!

Annie

Vanessa, I have no idea what went wrong. I have heard from many others who have tried this recipe that it came out perfectly. It’s impossible to know what went wrong since I wasn’t there with you.

http://gypsygirlgourmet.blogspot.com Vanessa

Thanks Annie for such a quick response. I’m going to let it rise, and also start from scratch a second batch. I’ve made several of your recipes and have been MORE than please with all of them! Thanks again! Vanessa

http://gypsygirlgourmet.blogspot.com Vanessa

And we have success! I reduced the amount of flour just a bit and also incorporated the butter much warmer than the first time! The dough was smooth and moist, perfect! Thanks again!

jaimeleben

Awesome, awesome, AWESOME!!! This was a total winner.

Jessica

I just made this recipe tonight…. it was KILLER!! Everyone LOVED it!! I followed the recipe but I tripled it because I have a 10 in & an 18 in pan. It still came out fine. Thanks for sharing!! <3

Heidi

I have been wanting to try this recipe for months. I finally made it tonight. It turned out perfect. My husband was so happy as he LOVES Chicago style pizza. I LOVE your blog and am really inspired by you. Thank you so much for sharing!

Elizabeth

Hi Annie. We love this pizza, and I noticed in your preface to the recipe, you write about wanting to make one and freeze it. At what point would you freeze it? Before baking, but assembled? Bake, then freeze? I’d love to try freezing to help get dinner on the table even faster on a weeknight. Thank you!

Annie

I have tried it since writing the post. I freeze after assembling but before baking.

http://www.cuminandcardamom.blogspot.com Renuka

I love Uno’s deep dish pizza and I will be making this soon. Thanks so much for posting the recipe. I will tell you how mine comes out.

http://whowritesforyou.com Randy Murray

I made this directly from the magazine and it was fun and terrific tasting.

For toppings I made one with sausage and pepperoni (2 links, Italian Sweet sausage, remove the skins, crumble and brown And get real pepperoni – not those hard little hockey pucks – sliced thin. Put it under the sauce!)

The second I put sliced tomatoes and green peppers under the sauce. Both were terrific.

Heather

I’ve been wanting to make this since I saw it in Cook’s Illustrated and I had been putting it off.. seeing your post was the final motivation I needed. I made the full recipe from the magazine last night and it was wonderful. It was so wonderful that the one I put in the freezer last night is in the oven for lunch right now! Thanks for the motivation!

Jenn

Thanks so much for this recipe! I recently had a request from a catering client for a pizza night and this is the recipe I used. It received rave reviews!

http://www.ladyofthebarn.com Kelli

I doubled the recipe and made this last night. Used fresh tomatoes instead of canned and threw in some chopped up bratwursts. Man this was delicious. Thanks for the recipe.

Claudia

I was actually checking back to see if you tried freezing it yet. Just curious why you assembled the pizza and then froze it. Do you think this particular dough would not freeze well? I love having the regular dough on hand in the freezer.

Annie

Yes, I did and it worked well. I assembled in advance so I would have a meal to pop into the oven. Very easy.

andrea

Do you know if you can premake deep dish pizzas and freeze before its cooked?

Annie

Yes.

andrea

Sorry to bother you again, one other freezer question, should I thaw it prior to baking and how long should it bake? Thanks so much :)

Annie

I would thaw it in the fridge and bake until it’s cooked through.

Jennifer

Hi,

I made this pizza today and it turned out totally delicious. My only question/problem is that after refrigeration, my dough didn’t come out any bigger. I’m not sure why… any suggestions would be appreciated!

Annie

If it rose okay during the first rise but not in the fridge, I’d guess maybe your fridge is on the cooler side. It may have risen eventually so it’s really best to judge it by volume rather than a set time. Hope that helps!

http://www.facebook.com/cageppert Cheryl Geppert

I am making this tonight :) We are putting in Italian Sausage, mushrooms, onions and black olives! I am also putting it in a Springform pan so it comes out of the pan easy. My pan is a 12in pan so it won’t be as thick as with a 9 inch pan. :)

Jenn

had to chime in; I made this from your adaptation on two different occasions and it was such a hit! now I get begged to make “that deep pizza” whenever I host dinners…

Toni

How about using a bread machine to make the crust? Would yiu need to follow all the steps with the dough? I don’t have a kitchen aid. Thanks

Anonymous

I don’t think this dough would turn out with the correct results using a bread machine. You can use your hands or a food processor instead of a mixer.

http://profiles.google.com/jlkolenda Jenny Kolenda

What type of pan do you recommend for this pizza? A pie pan?

annieseats

It’s listed in the directions.

Cary

The crust turned out really doughy instead of the biscuit texture that is typical at Uno’s. Do you have any suggestions to remedy?

annieseats

If it was doughy, it probably needed to bake longer.

Kelly

I did what you suggested and made two pizza and froze one before baking – and the first one came out great. However, I just baked the other one for 45-50 minutes (covered half the time) and the dough is raw in the middle but a little too crunchy on the edges… how did you bake your frozen pizza? Should I have thawed it first? Thanks!!

annieseats

I don’t have a set method, I just bake until it is cooked through and is as warm as I want it to be. Sometimes I thaw, sometimes I don’t.

tina

i made this for my husband (who’s from chicago) last night (used a springform pan) and he loved it! he said it was better than gino’s east! and i think he was serious, not just trying to compliment me! his former roommate (also from chicago) had tried several other recipes without any success. this one was great – thank you!

Jenny

Just wanted to say that I tried this recipe in the spring of 2012 and it is one of my favorites recipes. I lived in Chicago for some years and then moved away and couple of years ago, and this has been essential in keeping me from missing Lou Malnati’s pizza too much. Thank you! :)

Ashley

Just finished this for dins with my hubby! Yummm! I swayed from our usual pizza (also your pizza dough recipe) for somethin different. Perfect dinner with a salad and sooo filling. Cant wait to have the leftovers!

Thanks Annie for testing and finding another great pizza recipe!

Heidi S.

First, I absolutely love your recipes. I do have a question/suggestion though. You mention in your Freezer post that this freezes well but can you please add instructions for how you freeze it? I absolutely can not wait to try this one!!! My husband is going to L.O.V.E. this!

annieseats

Just assemble fully, wrap well and freeze. Thaw before baking or bake frozen until cooked through.

Darlene

I tried this recipe the other night, and while the flavor was good, it seemed to need more cheese. The “Cook’s Illustrated” recipe like this calls for 4 cups of mozzarella. I think the extra cheese would have made it better. I’ll try it again sometime with the 4 cups of cheese.

annieseats

This is the Cook’s Illustrated version. This version is halved to make one pizza, while theirs yields two, so the actual amount of cheese per pizza is no different.

meg

I’m excited to try this with Lou Malnati’s pizza in mind… I can’t wait! I’ve only had their pizza once, but the 3 hour drive was sooooo worth it!!

http://twitter.com/oliepants Oliepants

I made this for my family and I thought one pizza would be enough. I wish I had made both! This immediately brought my husband and I back with memories of Chicago and the first time I actually tried a deep dish. This recipe (as everything I have tried of yours) is perfection!

I’m afraid the dough may rise too much if it is made the night before, even in the refrigerator. Feel free to give it a try though. Good luck!

Faarooq Lowe

The olive oil crust is an interesting twist that I’ll have to try. My crust recipe is a little different minus the sugar and I use kosher salt, but nothing beats Chicago deep dish by a long shot. I’ll have to try crushed tomates also but I have seen some of the old school places try just puree seasoned to the hilt mixed with the other ingrediants. Absolutely delicious. Two things, one the longer the dough rises, the better, seems to work like a champ. Second, if you use Turkey sausage, like I do, watch the salt. The very first time I made it adding just a half a teaspoon of salt, made the whole pizza way too salty. I may try 1/4 and see what happens.

Erica Peharda

Thanks for this recipe! I moved away from Chicago 4 years ago and have been searching for anything close to my home town deep dish here in Colorado! I have a couple of adjustments I would make: I know this version is halved for one pizza, but I would still actually triple the cheese (Chicago deep dish cheese is usually at least an inch thick- I’m thinking of using string cheese next time! Well see!). Crust turned out great, as did the sauce (although I’m going to experiment with a little more sugar next time for a sweeter sauce). I lived in Chicago for 26 years so I might be a pizza snob! I mean no offense! I’ll post again to let you all know how it turned out the second time with these adjustments! Thanks again for sharing.